Pete Alonso strolled to the plate in the seventh inning with runners on the corners. The Mets trailed the Cardinals by four runs, but Alonso could change the story with one swing. He certainly tried, sending a 377-foot fly ball to right field. Then a dude named Lars Nootbaar stuck his tongue out, tracked the ball all the way to the warning track, poked his glove over the wall and robbed Alonso of a three-run home run.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the Mets season in a nutshell. There’s hope, then there’s despair, and finally there’s a Mets fan base once again heartbroken over the reality of their mediocre team.
The Mets lost to the Cardinals, 11-4, on Wednesday night at Citi Field. They went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. The Amazin’s were swept by the Cardinals in the three-game series and their postseason chances were effectively scrapped with them.
Luis Rojas’ club dropped five games back in the wild card race with 15 games to play. The Mets (72-75) open a three-game series against the division-rival Phillies on Friday.
“We gotta get real hot,” said Jeff McNeil, who went 3-for-4 on Wednesday. “Hopefully we can do that, and teams can help us out as well.”
The Mets pitching staff got shelled for four home runs as the Cardinals recorded 16 hits against seven arms. The taxed and struggling bullpen surrendered five of St. Louis’ 11 runs scored; Seth Lugo was tabbed for two home runs in the seventh. But the damage began in the opening frame.
Tylor Megill gave up five runs in the first inning to put his underwhelming offense in an early hole it could never overcome. The right-handed rookie was charged with six earned runs by the time his night was over; he completed just three innings for the shortest start of his young career.
“Just can’t get discouraged,” Megill said. “I wanted to go as far as I possibly could. I didn’t want to let the bullpen work as early as they did tonight. Definitely hurts that I didn’t go more than three.”
Megill was not even on the Mets’ radar when the season began. He began the year pitching for Double-A Binghamton. He was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse in June before the Mets called him up later that month for good. But that was it; Megill made eight minor-league starts totaling 40.1 innings pitched before he became a necessary addition to the Mets rotation due to injuries.
He was terrific until August, when the workload started catching up to him. Megill posted a 2.04 ERA and 39 strikeouts in his first seven big-league starts (39.1 innings). In his next nine starts, as the innings piled up on him, Megill has recorded a 6.55 ERA. His 80.2 innings in 2021 are the most he’s pitched in his professional career. Prior to this season, his 71.2 innings pitched in 2019 were the most he’d logged in the minors.
Megill said the Mets have not approached him about shutting down for the rest of the season, and it’s his preference to continue throwing.
“We still have a chance,” the Mets skipper said when asked if the reality of their season is beginning to settle in. “And it’s real, that we have a chance. We can take advantage of the day off tomorrow. It’s needed. We had a lot of long games lately and I think it’s going to come in handy. Guys can get rested and then come in to play the Phillies, which is another team that’s in the way. So we just gotta keep moving forward.”
